Kentucky is suing Express Scripts, alleging it has a role in the deadly opioid addiction crisis

Kentucky’s attorney general has sued Express Scripts, alleging the pharmaceutical giant was at the center of an opioid distribution chain that fueled the deadly addiction crisis that still plagues his state.

Attorney General Russell Coleman alleged in state court this week that St. Louis-based Express Scripts and its affiliates colluded with opioid manufacturers in deceptive marketing schemes to sell the drug.

The result was an “epidemic of overdoses and deaths flooding communities fueled by an oversupply of opioids by powerful corporations seeking profit at the expense of the public,” the filing says.

Express Scripts responded Friday that it has long struggled with opioid overuse and abuse and will “vigorously fight these baseless allegations in court.”

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The government’s lawsuit against pharmacy benefit managers is the latest frontier — and perhaps the last major — in years of litigation over America’s worst drug epidemic.

The drug class was linked to about 75,000 deaths in the United States in the 12 months ending April 30. Many deaths in recent years have been linked to illegal fentanyl and other lab-produced opioids that are the drug of choice for some users. And it is also linked to other illegal drugs.

Kentucky is at the center of the crisis with the highest death rate in the country.

“Express Scripts’ role in creating the opioid epidemic has been largely hidden from public view,” the Kentucky lawsuit says. “But it’s now clear that over the past two decades, Express Scripts has played a key role in facilitating the oversupply of opioids through deliberate behavior that ignored the necessary safeguards to increase prescriptions, distribution and sales. Opioids.

Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, run prescription drug coverage for health insurers and employers who provide coverage. They help decide which drugs make the plan’s formulary, or list of covered drugs. They can also determine where patients go to fill their prescriptions.

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For years, pharmacy benefit managers have been the target of ire from politicians, patients and others. But PBMs have said they play an important role in controlling drug costs and many of the discounts they negotiate for their customers are passed on.

In June, Arkansas sued two pharmacy benefit managers, accusing them of fueling the state’s opioid crisis. The suit was filed in state court against Express Scripts and Aptam and their subsidiaries.

Drug dealers, wholesalers and pharmacy chains have already faced thousands of lawsuits and settled many of them in a series of deals that have over time been worth more than $50 billion, costing more money and Used to fight addiction crisis.

PBMs and many state plaintiffs are exchanging records in anticipation of a series of federal lawsuits that are at least a year off. They can be a springboard for accommodation.

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Kentucky’s lawsuit against Express Scripts and its affiliates says the state must receive $2,000 for each willful violation of the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act, along with other fines the court deems appropriate. The lawsuit was filed in Jasmine County Circuit Court in Nichollsville.

Coleman, a Republican, is the latest in a series of Kentucky attorneys general from both parties — including former attorney general and current Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear — to go to court to hold opioid manufacturers and distributors accountable for what they do. Sees as companies. role in the development of the addiction crisis.

Coleman’s predecessor, Republican Daniel Cameron, saved Kentucky more than $800 million as part of a settlement with corporations for their role in the addiction crisis. Half of Kentucky’s disposal will go directly to cities and counties. A commission oversees the division of half of the state.

The latest lawsuit alleges that Express Scripts failed to report suspicious amounts of opioids in Kentucky. The company also distributed opioids through mail-order pharmacies without effective controls, in violation of Kentucky and federal law.

“ExpressScript and other pharmacy benefit managers have amassed an unprecedented level of power, using it to push opioid pills and hide illegal activity,” Coleman said in a statement Thursday. »

Drug overdose deaths in Kentucky are set to drop nearly 10% in 2023, marking the second straight annual decline, but state leaders say the toll is tragically high and the fight against the drug epidemic is over. You have not arrived. Last year, nearly 2,000 Kentuckians died of drug overdoses.

Coleman recently announced plans for a statewide drug prevention program aimed at youth. Beshear says Kentucky ranks first nationally in the number of residential drug and alcohol treatment beds per capita. In Washington, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has directed a large amount of federal funding to his home state to fight addiction.


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